Wild Men of Alaska 02 - Moosed-Up

Chapter One

    She was out of her ever-loving mind.
    Eva Stuart trekked over the forest carpet of lowbush cranberries, wild mushrooms, and who knew what else. Yes, it was beautiful, stunning really, but Chatanika, Alaska? They had said remote. They hadn’t said end of the world, or in this case, top of the world. She didn’t even know what time of day it was. Just that she was lost. What had she been thinking, taking a walk about town, when there really was no town? It was a freaking village. And she was the only medical personnel here. She thought she’d be working in a medical clinic with a staff of doctors and nurses.
    Nope. Nurse Practitioner was all they could afford. She was it. If there was an emergency, and she couldn’t save a patient in time, they were out of luck. She’d wanted something completely removed from Cincinnati, but taking a position like this without really thinking it through because her rat-bastard ex-fiancé was banging her best friend was the definition of extreme. Or stupidity. Davis and Jeremy were probably enjoying a fine meal in her favorite Italian restaurant, drinking an expensive bottle of wine, while she was lost in the woods slapping bird-size mosquitoes.
    Yeah, she sure showed them.
    What did it say about her that she was still more upset with her best friend Jeremy betraying her with Davis, rather than the fact that Davis was obviously gay too? She missed Jeremy. She could always talk to him, go shopping. He got her. He was the best girlfriend she’d ever had. And now he was shacked up with her former boyfriend planning to adopt a baby and starting the family she’d always wanted.
    Rustling in the brush behind her caused her to freeze.
    What was that?
    She swiveled at the sound of branches breaking behind her and came face to face with a bull moose.
    Shiiit.
    “Nice Moosey.”
    His nostrils flared, and his ears twitched. What had the travel brochure said? Moose weren’t cute Disney characters. They weren’t dumb, and they weren’t nice, and they probably didn’t like being called “Moosey” either.
    The moose lowered his massive head and glared at her from under the shadow of his impressive antlers. Eva inched back, her heart in her throat.
    He charged.
    She screamed, and ran for her life, twisting through paper birch and sick-looking spruce trees.
    ***
    Lynx Maiski whipped off his shirt and wiped his face and the back of his neck with it. He picked up the ax and continued to chop firewood. It was a gorgeous, hot summer day. Well, night actually, as it was headed toward ten o’clock, but you wouldn’t know it by the sun. He loved it up here in the north.
    Plenty to do, plenty of food, and plenty of peace.
    “ Heeeelp! ”
    He turned toward the scream and caught a glimpse of Eva, the little sprite of a nurse new to town. He wondered how long she’d last. Hopefully a while, since she was the hottest piece of ass he’d seen in a long time.
    What was she doing running hell bent for high water like that? Then he heard the thrashing in the brush right before a Bull Moose appeared.
    Oh, boy .
    Lynx sunk the ax in the log and took off after the pair. He hollered and waved his arms, making himself appear bigger than he was, in the hopes of scaring off the wild animal. The moose slowed his gait as the trees thickened.
    Smart girl, heading into smaller places where your predator couldn’t follow. Much like a bird, Eva flew up a black spruce tree.
    Ah, now that’s not going to work.
    The moose, not afraid of Lynx, stopped at the base of the tree. Eva yelped and climbed higher, spindly branches breaking beneath her.
    “Don’t move,” Lynx warned. She was going to break her cute little neck.
    “Shoot it!” she yelled.
    “It’s not moose season.”
    “I don’t give a shit. Shoot it!”
    The moose turned his head and seemed to share a look with Lynx over the new Cheechako in town.
    “Come on, BW, git!” He slapped his hands together, spooking the moose into charging off into the forest. The dang thing was up to no good. Not the way to welcome a pretty girl to town.
    “Do you know that moose?” she squeaked.
    Crap, he had to watch that, especially with a Cheechako. She wouldn’t understand.
    “You called it BW,” she persisted like a badger.
    “I think you’re hearing things.” The branch she held onto started to creak and give way. “Don’t move. Y ou can’t climb trees like... that.”
    She tumbled down through the boughs. He tried to catch her but